In a collaborative effort to strengthen Assam's public health system over the next three years, C-CAMP, a biotech innovation hub in Bengaluru, and the Medical Education and Research Department of the Assam government have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The agreement is geared towards enhancing technology adoption, upgrading infrastructure, and building capacity among healthcare practitioners. Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, Director and CEO of C-CAMP and Siddharth Singh, Commissioner and Secretary of the Medical Education and Research Department, signed the MoU in Guwahati. The event took place in the presence of the state Health Minister, Keshab Mahanta.

"From COVID times, C-CAMP has contributed and supported us to strengthen public health infrastructure. With this MoU, the Assam government and C-CAMP have reaffirmed their commitment to the health sector. We look forward to initiating critical projects in health like retinopathy of prematurity", health minister Mahanta said.

C-CAMP director Dr. Saiyed thanked the Assam government for working extensively with the centre in bringing state-of-the-art healthcare technology to the people. "This collaboration with the Department of Medical Education & Research will create an impact by fostering meaningful connections between the innovation ecosystem and clinicians and caregivers in the field. This can change the game for technology adoption to impact public health delivery and accessibility in the state of Assam", he said.

C-CAMP has successfully executed three significant healthcare initiatives in Assam, supported by funding from both national and international philanthropic organizations. These programs specifically focus on critical areas such as maternal and child healthcare, improvements in hospital infrastructure, and comprehensive immunization efforts, including initiatives addressing COVID-19. Noteworthy achievements include the implementation of 307 units of respiratory support technology tailored for limited-resource settings. This has effectively fulfilled the entire infrastructure requirement for newborn and pediatric critical care across all district hospitals and medical colleges in Assam.

As part of a separate initiative, 200 electronic temperature-regulated active vaccine carriers were distributed across 12 districts to enhance last-mile cold chain capabilities for routine immunization and COVID-19 vaccination. Additionally, C-CAMP has established a 54-bed augmented hospital facility supported by oxygen at Uluoni CHC in the Nagaon district. Dr. Saiyed emphasized that the primary focus of the collaboration is to further enhance the ongoing projects in Assam and align emerging solutions more closely with the pressing needs on the ground.

"In the pipeline is a project to improve early screening and detection in retinopathy of prematurity, a common eye disease affecting premature babies and newborns through context-specific innovative health solutions", he said. In his address, Siddharth Singh, commissioner, Medical Education and Research Department, said the department has made progress in strengthening medical education and healthcare in Assam.

"With this partnership, we hope to identify solutions for scaling and strengthening our various ambitious healthcare initiatives in areas like non-communicable disease screening, especially cancer screening with technological interventions", he said.